MOVES are under way to transform rugby pitches into a tented village for hundreds of visitors to Glasgow during the Commonwealth Games.
Campingninja, a firm that has been backed by VisitScotland and ran 13 campsites during the London Olympics, is in advanced talks with Allan Glens sports club in Bishopbriggs, north of Glasgow, about using its facilities in the run-up to and during the Games.
Discussions have also taken place with Allan Glens and representatives of the local authority, police and emergency services, with plans for around 500 to stay on the site from July 16 to August 6.
The club has been in contact with its immediate residential neighbours over the plans, which are largely dependent on 2014 contractors striking a deal with Campingninja.
The firm is already taking bookings for two similar sized sites at sports clubs at Pollok Park and Uddingston, and is hoping to secure business from the lack of affordable accommodation during the Commonwealth Games, with even budget hotel chains charging upwards of £250 per night compared to the £18 per night camping fee.
The plans have secured the qualified support of local politicians, who have urged Allan Glens to begin a wider consultation as soon as possible.
The move comes after another Campingninja's plans to turn the grounds of Glasgow Hutchesons' Aloysians Rugby Club, in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, into a site for up to 600 people in 250 tents were blocked. Neighbouring residents said they did not want it on their doorstep.
Despite East Renfrewshire Council officers recommending the application was granted, four councillors on the authority's planning committee voted against it, with three in favour, after concerns were raised over security, parking issues and the impact on residents.
However, SNP and Tory East Dunbartonshire councillors said the Allan Glens plans would provide a business boost to Bishopbriggs and bring some of the expected "buzz" around the Games to the area.
Steve McConnell, Allan Glen's president, said: "We have not entered this relationship at haste."
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